THE ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN
The Six Settings & Situations: The "Where" of Change
The changemaker’s first task is to perform an “environmental scan,” in order to check out the various “situations” (or environments) in which a student lives and learns. A scan is important because it starts the process of pinpointing where in their environment students’ potential can get blocked; it also compensates for the changemaker’s blindspots. In addition, the environmental scan also points to the “approach” the changemaker will take in developing a plan.
The Inner Situation—a student’s inner life, cognitively and emotionally, with an emphasis on what social psychologists call “subjective construals” (how students make sense of themselves and the world around them). Among scores of potential construals that affect one’s performance—our focus is on students’ “mindsets,” the values they themselves hold dear, and their sense of belonging. We all know how much student potential can get trapped inside their heads and hearts.
The Intimate Situation—where unvarnished and private experiences are shared with those closest to students. Examples would include the family, a religious organization and/or a medical clinic. The intimate domains are where subjective construals (and pathologies) can get distorted, magnified and solidified.
The Local Situation—the people, groups, organizations and situations in which a student engages routinely. Examples include the school, clubs and teams, where individuals learn and live within a web of first-hand relationships. At the center of this web of relationships is the local environment is the school, where children past the age of five spend most of their time and where they find themselves subject to constant scrutiny and judgment. Whether in school or through their other daily routines, this is the domain where they develop many of their habits, for better or worse.
The Online Situation—where students “hangout.” Perhaps the most powerful way that young people interact socially is on line. While online platforms may keep changing and evolving, this is where young people go when they want to engage with individuals groups that are important to them and be out of the reach of adults.
The Peripheral Situation—the environments that affect a student indirectly. This domain is broad, and includes such influences ranging from their parents’ jobs to what they pick up in the media all the way to public policy (e.g., immigration laws) and cultural norms.
Nested Situations. All these domains interact with one another in complex, compounding and confounding ways. Urie Bronfenbrenner, the noted developmental psychologist and a founder of the Head Start Program, characterized these domains as systems that are “nested,” much like Russian dolls—domains within domains and systems within systems. These overlapping domains create a complex mosaic that can exacerbate and magnify problems (i.e., trapping potential) and/or be part of the solution (releasing potential).
The changemaker’s first task is to perform an “environmental scan,” in order to check out the various “situations” (or environments) in which a student lives and learns. A scan is important because it starts the process of pinpointing where in their environment students’ potential can get blocked; it also compensates for the changemaker’s blindspots. In addition, the environmental scan also points to the “approach” the changemaker will take in developing a plan.
The Inner Situation—a student’s inner life, cognitively and emotionally, with an emphasis on what social psychologists call “subjective construals” (how students make sense of themselves and the world around them). Among scores of potential construals that affect one’s performance—our focus is on students’ “mindsets,” the values they themselves hold dear, and their sense of belonging. We all know how much student potential can get trapped inside their heads and hearts.
The Intimate Situation—where unvarnished and private experiences are shared with those closest to students. Examples would include the family, a religious organization and/or a medical clinic. The intimate domains are where subjective construals (and pathologies) can get distorted, magnified and solidified.
The Local Situation—the people, groups, organizations and situations in which a student engages routinely. Examples include the school, clubs and teams, where individuals learn and live within a web of first-hand relationships. At the center of this web of relationships is the local environment is the school, where children past the age of five spend most of their time and where they find themselves subject to constant scrutiny and judgment. Whether in school or through their other daily routines, this is the domain where they develop many of their habits, for better or worse.
The Online Situation—where students “hangout.” Perhaps the most powerful way that young people interact socially is on line. While online platforms may keep changing and evolving, this is where young people go when they want to engage with individuals groups that are important to them and be out of the reach of adults.
The Peripheral Situation—the environments that affect a student indirectly. This domain is broad, and includes such influences ranging from their parents’ jobs to what they pick up in the media all the way to public policy (e.g., immigration laws) and cultural norms.
Nested Situations. All these domains interact with one another in complex, compounding and confounding ways. Urie Bronfenbrenner, the noted developmental psychologist and a founder of the Head Start Program, characterized these domains as systems that are “nested,” much like Russian dolls—domains within domains and systems within systems. These overlapping domains create a complex mosaic that can exacerbate and magnify problems (i.e., trapping potential) and/or be part of the solution (releasing potential).